$500,000 to Washington Schools The national stimulus bill President Obama signed yesterday should be sending extra money to Washington schools. U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack of Iowa visited Washington school district yesterday and reported the district would receive an estimated $500,000. He says the district can use the money as it sees fit.

New Chamber DirectorThe Washington Chamber of Commerce has named a new director. The board has hired Tim Coffey as their new executive director. Coffey moved to Washington in 2001 from Mason City and opened Coffey and Associates, which is a fund raising consulting business. Chamber Board President Sue Basten says Coffey brings an incredible amount of non-profit experience and will bring a new type of energy and enthusiasm to the chamber. Coffey replaces Susan Wellington who left to become the executive director of Lending Hands Adult Day Care.

City Council MeetingThe Washington City Council has a public hearing tonight on allowing the city to guarantee the repayment of capital loans using property taxes. City Administrator Dave Plyman says they are looking at issuing $3.5 million in bond notes for a project. This tells the investor that the city guarantees the note will be repaid and if needed, the city will levy property taxes to repay the loan. The hearing will be part of the council's meeting tonight at seven at the Washington Public Library.

Recycling CenterA reduction in the value of materials collected at the county recycling center is causing the Supervisors to have to commit more money to its operation. Washington County Supervisors took action yesterday to allocate $28,0000 provided the city also funds the recycling center at that level. The $28,000 is up from $16,000 this fiscal year. Supervisor Jim Rosein told fellow supervisors the reason for the increase is the value of the recycled materials has declined.

Kalona City CouncilThe Kalona Historical Village is very thankful to the city council. The Kalona Historical Village Executive Director Steve Reif was present at the city council meeting on Monday to stand before the council and attendees to express the villages heartfelt thanks. The city council approved the villages request to help with funds to help pay some expenses.

Improv night at Kalona LibraryImprov night is coming to the Kalona Library. Youth Services Librarian Marissa Tartaglia says there will be around six or seven teens that will be putting on a show for the public. She says the show will be like the TV show Whose Line is it Anyway. Tartaglia says the Teen Advisory Group will be the participants and it will be Monday at 6:45pm in the Kalona Library.

Riverside City Council The Riverside City Council is looking at projects coming up within the next year. City Clerk Tina Thomas says the City Engineer spoke to the city council on Monday about going to bid for work on a commercial road in Riverside. Thomas also says the council set a date for a public hearing on the 2009-2010 budget estimate. The date for the public hearing will be on March 9th at 6pm.